The United Church managed to get into the news everywhere yesterday by opening a cafe. There is a new website called WonderCafe.ca which is designed to reach a more youthful "unchurched" audience. There will be discussions of topical issues and a slightly irreverent approach to some subject matter. There is a bobblehead Jesus figure which ended up on the front page of one of our national newspapers, the Globe and Mail. Do we need to be concerned by this approach? I don't think so. Will it help reach the young and the spiritually restless? Maybe. So far the website has been flooded with "hits" and individuals posting comments. The lay-out is fun and thought-provoking.
It certainly won't address one of the pressing issues of our denomination, a largely rural church where hundreds of congregations are struggling for survival. We are one of a few denominations which attempts to have a presence in communities where the majority of young people head away for university and college and never return. We shouldn't beat up on ourselves for this reality, but we may not be able to sustain this presence for much longer either. And an E-Z Answer Squirrel might not have a quick solution for this one.
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